Los Angeles Solar Atlas

Los AngelesSol ar AtlAs

3323 School of Public AffAirS builDiNG

boX 951656, los Angeles, cA 90095-1656

310. 267. 5435 fAX 310. 267. 5443

www.luskin.ucla.edu

UC

LA Lu

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“Sustaining

the environment

is the greatest

inheritance one can

leave to children,

and the most

enduring gift to

community and nation.”

— Meyer Luskin

“For Los Angeles to be

the cleanest, greenest city,

we need participation

from every Angeleno…

we know that dirty fossil fuels

will only become more scarce

and more expensive

in the years to come.

This helps move

us toward renewable energy

while at the same

time creating new jobs.”

— Mayor Villaraigosa

2011 | UCLA | LUSKIN CENTER for INNOVATION | 01

Authors

J.R. DeShazo

Director and Professor, UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation

Ryan Matulka

Project Manager, UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation

Norman Wong

GIS Program Manager, UCLA Lewis Center

Cover Design

Wanda Decca

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the following organizations for their financial and material support with-out which this atlas would not be possible. Any errors or omissions are the responsibility of the authors.

Los Angeles Rooftop Solar AtlAs

2011

L


Los Angeles is endowed not only with bountiful sunshine, but also with vast expanses of low-rise urban

development that offers valuable siting opportunities for distributed solar energy generation. This atlas

describes the geography of the region’s rooftop solar resources. The information may prove useful for

economic development planners, solar photovoltaic (PV) installers, utility planners, building owners,

public administrators, labor union leadership, and anyone interested in the development of solar power

in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles County has over 19,000 megawatts of rooftop solar PV potential, while the City of Los

Angeles has over 5,500 megawatts.* These maps, which are based on aerial photography of the solar-

usable rooftop space,** should be viewed as providing long-run estimates of rooftop potential.***

This atlas is organized to help cities and electricity utilities understand their own solar rooftop potential

so that they may be better stewards of these resources. Each map presents the geographical distribu-

tion of solar potential across neighborhoods and parcels. In addition, each map is accompanied by a

description of how the solar potential varies across single- and multifamily residences, commercial and

industrial parcels, and nonprofit and government parcels, since the economic benefits and policy incen-

tives may vary accordingly. Because cost-effectiveness increases with the size of a solar installation, the

atlas also presents for each jurisdiction the number of potential solar projects by size as well as the total

rooftop potential.

The maps in this atlas are best used for identifying the overall spatial patterns of rooftop solar poten-

tial. However, they are an incomplete tool for investigating individual sites. This atlas does not contain

information on the age or material integrity of rooftops. The usable portion of rooftop may change

over time due to changes in shading (tree growth or tall adjacent construction) or roof modification.

Those interested in specific rooftops should consult with a qualified professional for an on-site analysis.

The data sources and analytical methods used in this atlas are discussed in detail in the appendix.

* See Bringing Solar Energy to Los Angeles at (luskin.ucla.edu/publications) authored by the UCLA Luskin

Center and commissioned by the Los Angeles Business Council.

** See the Los Angeles County Solar Map at (solarmap.lacounty.gov).

*** This atlas assumes that roofs that have solar potential but cannot currently not support solar because of

old age or poor quality will be replaced in 10 to 15 years under a standard capital maintenance program.

INTRODUCTION


Los AngeLes County 05

Cities And Zones

Los Angeles 07

Enterprise Zones of Los Angeles 09

Carson 11

Commerce 13

Downey 15

Gardena 17

Industry 19

La Mirada 21

Lancaster 23

Long Beach 25

Palmdale 27

Pomona 29

Santa Clarita 31

Santa Fe Springs 33

Torrance 35

West Covina 37

Los AngeLes City CounCiL distriCts

District 1 39

District 2 41

District 3 43

District 4 45

District 5 47

District 6 49

District 7 51

District 8 53

District 9 55

District 10 57

District 11 59

District 12 61

District 13 63

District 14 65

District 15 67

utiLities

Azusa Light & Power Service 69

Burbank Water & Power Service 71

Cerritos Electric Utility Service 73

Glendale Water & Power Service 75

Pasadena Water & Power Service 77

Southern California Edison 79

Vernon Light & Power Service 81

Los AngeLes County supervisoriAL distriCts

District 1 83

District 2 85

District 3 87

District 4 89

District 5 91

Luskin Center for innovAtion, InItIatIves 92

Appendix 93

C O N T E N T S

Juan

Rectangle

Solar Statistics of the County of Los Angeles Area 4,084.0 square miles Population 10,438,971 (2009 estimate) Total Potential Sites 1,481,814 Commercial & Industrial 6.9% Median Rooftop Availability 17.6% Multi-family 15.4% Median Potential of Parcels 4.1 Kilowatts Single Family 77.1% Median Solar Density Index 9.3% Government or Non-profit 0.6% Total Rooftop Solar Potential 19,113 Megawatts

0

1,994

3,504

4,565

5,422

1,888 1,740

0100,000200,000300,000400,000500,000600,000700,000800,000

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

Num

ber o

f Par

cels

Phys

ical

Sol

ar P

oten

tial

(Meg

awat

ts)

Potential Project Size

County of Los Angeles: Megawatts of Rooftop Solar Potential by Project Size

Megawatts Parcels

Rank Potential (kW) Parcel Address Zip Code Parcel Use Description1 7,340 21749 Baker Pkwy 91748 Warehousing, Distribution, Storage2 7,201 15541 Gale Ave 91745 Warehousing, Distribution, Storage3 7,097 2825 E Avenue P 93550 Heavy Manufacturing4 6,987 300 Westmont Dr 90731 Warehousing, Distribution, Storage5 6,933 20005 Business Pkwy 91789 Warehousing, Distribution, Storage6 6,912 1601 W Mission Blvd 91766 Warehousing, Distribution, Storage7 6,706 5300 Sheila St 90040 Food Processing Plants8 6,296 3880 N Mission Rd 90031 Warehousing, Distribution, Storage9 6,202 19700 Van Ness Ave 90501 Warehousing, Distribution, Storage

10 5,979 12520 Slauson Ave 90670 Warehousing, Distribution, Storage11 5,931 21535 Baker Pkwy 91748 Warehousing, Distribution, Storage12 5,552 13500 Foster Rd 90670 Warehousing, Distribution, Storage13 5,444 21508 Ferrero 91789 Warehousing, Distribution, Storage14 5,293 15930 Valley Blvd 91744 Warehousing, Distribution, Storage15 5,279 9630 Norwalk Blvd 90670 Warehousing, Distribution, Storage16 5,263 5305 Rivergrade Rd 91706 Warehousing, Distribution, Storage17 5,170 2400 Yates Ave 90040 Heavy Manufacturing18 5,125 9400 Santa Fe Springs Rd 90670 Warehousing, Distribution, Storage19 5,105 13060 Temple Ave 91746 Light Manufacturing20 5,081 700 Van Ness Ave 90501 Office Buildings

Parcels with the Largest Potential Solar Projects in the County of Los Angeles


ORANGECOUNTY

KERNCOUNTY

VENTURACOUNTY

Los Angeles

Palmdale

Lancaster

Long Beach

Santa Clarita

Glendale

Pomona

Carson

Pasadena

Malibu

Torrance

Glendora

Burbank

Whittier

Downey

San Dimas

Monrovia

Industry

Arcadia ClaremontAzusa

West Covina

Calabasas

Walnut

Compton

Diamond Bar

Norwalk

El Monte

Cerritos

AltadenaDuarte

La Verne

Lakewood

Inglewood

La Mirada

Pico Rivera

Lake Los Angeles

Alhambra

Montebello

Acton

Vernon

Agoura Hills

South Gate

Rancho Palos Verdes

Gardena

Santa Monica

El Segundo

Culver City

Beverly Hills

La Canada Flintridge

Quartz Hill

Westlake Village

La Puente

Palos Verdes Estates

Manhattan Beach

San Fernando

Littlerock

Hidden Hills

Marina del Rey

Val Verde

Desert View Highlands

0 10 205 Miles

City Boundary

Freeways/Highways

Solar Density Index

Low High

Rooftop Solar Potential of Los Angeles County

©

Map Preparation by Norman Wong - UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation

Angeles National Forest

Santa Monica Mountains

Pacific Ocean



www.luskin.ucla.edu

CLEaN TEChNoLogyThrough strategic research and communication, the Luskin Center is supporting Mayor Villaraigosa’s Office and other members of the Clean Tech LA collaborative in the goal to make the city of Los Angeles a center for the clean technology industry.

SUSTaINabLE ENERgyResearchers analyze and recommend strategies to effectively advance renewable energy and energy efficiency in California.The Luskin Center’s Sustainable Energy initiative analyzes and recommends strategies to effectively advance renewable energy and energy efficiency in California.

CLImaTE ChaNgEThe Luskin Center’s Climate Change Initiative is designed to strengthen local governments’ capacity to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change.

gREEN ChEmISTRyThe Luskin Center’s Green Chemistry initiative is advancing health and environmental protections in the field of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs).Luskin Center researchers in collaboration with academic partners and state and federal agencies are advancing health and environmental protections in the booming field of nanotechnology.

SmaRT WaTER SySTEmSThe Luskin Center’s Smart Water Systems initiative seeks to inform solutions for more sustainable and smart water systems. This initiative explores options for addressing Southern California’s severe drought by tapping into unused or underutilized water sources.

INITIaTIves


T

* http://webhelp.esri.com/arcgisdesktop/9.2/index.cfm?TopicName=Geometrical_interval

** Assuming 100 square feet per kilowatt of solar capacity.

The Los Angeles County Chief Information Office provided the data used to create this atlas. The

data was compiled to support the Los Angeles County Solar Map initiative, an interactive web-based

application designed to help people investigate the feasibility of rooftop solar for individual sites (see

solarmap.lacounty.gov). The Luskin Center modified this data in order to measure solar potential from

a regional perspective. These adjustments allowed each tax-assessed land parcel in Los Angeles County

to be evaluated for solar potential and categorized into market segments. A detailed discussion of the

methodology used to accomplish this is provided in the Luskin Center report “Bringing Solar Energy

to Los Angeles” (available at luskin.ucla.edu/publications). The “physical potential” of a rooftop is

defined as the maximum solar capacity that could be achieved if solar PV arrays were installed on all

available rooftop space that receives direct sunlight from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day of the year. These

maps represent the physical potential existing on rooftops. Parking lots, open space, infrastructure

rights-of-way, and building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) are not shown on these maps.

Two methods were used to analyze the spatial patterns of solar potential. First, for small-scale

maps that show large areas of Los Angeles County, we created the images using “heat map” analy-

sis. This technique shows high-level patterns and concentrated “hot spots” of solar potential, but

does not show individual land parcels. Second, for large-scale maps of smaller geographies, par-

cel maps were used to categorize each parcel. The parcels were categorized by geometric inter-

val to facilitate a visually appealing and accurate display of the distribution of solar potential.*

While it is possible to distinguish individual parcels on these maps, there can occasionally be differ-

ences between the measured solar potential and the actual potential of a rooftop. Users of this atlas

should verify the solar potential of a specific site with other sources of information.

Adjacent to each map is a page of descriptive statistics about the geography shown on the map. The

page provides basic information such as population and physical area. It also contains a breakdown

of the land parcels in the jurisdiction based on market segment. Rooftop Availability is the ratio of the

area available for solar to the rooftop area. Median Potential of Parcels is the median size of the poten-

tial projects based on the assumptions in Appendix 1 of “Bringing Solar Energy to Los Angeles.”**

Median Solar Density Index describes the ratio of area available for solar to the area of the land

parcel. This measure incorporates land use patterns and suitable area for solar to show the “density” of

solar potential in Los Angeles. Total Rooftop Solar Potential is the sum of the potential for all parcels

within the geographic boundary. The chart shows how the potential projects are distributed by size,

while the table shows the 20 largest potential projects based on capacity in kilowatts.

appeNDIx

The color gradients in the legend of each map represent the solar density index. The parcels were cat-

egorized according to the ratio of square feet available for solar to the square feet of the land parcel.

The colors suggest a continuous distribution of the density of parcels corresponding to these ratio

values. Land use patterns, building profiles, development history, and numerous other factors influence

the solar density of each area. Areas with commercial and industrial uses typically stand out as being

denser, while single-family residential uses, high-rise commercial uses, and older developments with

mature vegetation tend to be less dense according to this measure.

0-1% 1-3% 3-8% 8-17% 17-39% 39-86% 86-100%

LOW HIgH

The maps in this atlas are intended to describe the physical distribution of the solar potential as a func-

tion of land use. These maps should not be used as a primary source of information for a single rooftop

without validating the results against several other sources of information.


appeNDIx

Printed on recycled paper, using soy-based inks. Please recycle.

“Sustaining

the environment

is the greatest

inheritance one can

leave to children,

and the most

enduring gift to

community and nation.”

— Meyer Luskin

“For Los Angeles to be

the cleanest, greenest city,

we need participation

from every Angeleno…

we know that dirty fossil fuels

will only become more scarce

and more expensive

in the years to come.

This helps move

us toward renewable energy

while at the same

time creating new jobs.”

— Mayor Villaraigosa

Los AngelesSol ar AtlAs

3323 School of Public AffAirS builDiNG

boX 951656, los Angeles, cA 90095-1656

310. 267. 5435 fAX 310. 267. 5443

www.luskin.ucla.edu

UC

LA Lu

sk

in C

en

ter

for In

no

vA

tIo

n •

Los A

ng

eles so

Lar

atLa

s

Documents

Los Angeles Solar Atlas